Etsy Just Bought Boutique Electronics Startup Grand St.

Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, just bought Grand St.

Grand St. is the New York-based startup that sells indie electronics.

Grand St. launched last year to give people access to some of the coolest gadgets. The boutique offers new products to members every other day. But since it's a flash sales site, you have to act fast.

What makes Grand St. especially unique is that it tests each and every gadget it sells.

Grand St. has raised $1.3 million in seed funding.

"The Grand St. marketplace will continue to operate in the near term, and there will be no immediate change for Grand St. makers and buyers," an Etsy spokesperson told Business Insider via email. "There is no current plan to visibly connect the two marketplaces."

Here's the full announcement from Etsy:

Today, we're excited to announce that we're acquiring Grand St., the marketplace for creative technology, subject to closing conditions. Grand St. connects independent hardware makers with passionate buyers, harnessing a wave of innovation happening outside the mainstream consumer electronics industry. What unites Etsy and Grand St. is a shared vision of the way making is changing, and we're excited to learn from their community. The team behind Grand St. - including co-founders Amanda Peyton, Joe Lallouz and Aaron Henshaw - will join Etsy but continue to operate the Grand St. marketplace in the near term.

As we've seen here at Etsy, shoppers are increasingly interested in unique and innovative goods, especially when they know and can be involved in the story behind the product. At the same time, it's becoming easier than ever for independent makers and designers to bring ideas to market and find a global audience. Grand St. gets this - that's why we're such a good fit.

A curated marketplace, Grand St. addresses indie hardware makers at different stages in the development cycle. Their pre-orders feature showcase products that are not yet widely available, but will be soon. Their beta feature lets makers get direct feedback from buyers on products that are still evolving. And their shop feature is for consumer-ready products that are 100% functional and currently shipping, with guaranteed customer satisfaction.

Grand St. strives to enable small designers and maker teams to find a legitimate path to market, just as Etsy's goal is to empower our sellers to start and grow their independent, creative businesses. We are so excited to continue making this progress together.